Smallest AC Adaptor

Hi Guys,

Searched the forum for a while but couldn't find info on the smallest possible AC adaptor. I have a sony Vaio 380 and the adaptor is a brick. The laptop is awesome but I would like to replace the adaptor with the smallest and lightest adaptor possible.

Any Suggestions?

Thanks!

 

sometimes it's a brick for a reason. Probably your lappie drinks a lot of WATTS. What is the rating on your adapter? 50W, 70W 90W???? or higher???

 

Yeah, it may just need it.

 

A lot of it depends on the necessary power output, but a lot also depends on what the manufacturer puts in the laptop itself. For a super-small unit like the S380, one way they can make it so small is by taking out a lot of the circuitry/transformers that would normally go on the motherboard and putting it all into the power brick instead. My ASUS W3V draws 65 watts -- the brick is rated for 19V at 3.42a -- but even so the brick is only about 4.5 x 1 x 2 inches, and only weighs a couple ounces, because a lot of the associated circuitry is inside the laptop.

Power transformation requires big, heavy components, no matter what. The trade-off to putting them all in the brick is that the laptop itself is smaller and lighter, which helps if you can get away with only toting that around -- but if (like me) you carry the laptop *and* the brick everywhere, you're still gonna have that extra pound of crap anyway, so it doesn't really matter which part it's in.....

 

Vaio are notorius for being power hungry. Sorry looks like your stuck with your brick

I've got a Compaq TC-1000. All around smallest machine I've owned that is still useable, pretty cheap on ebay if you're looking for something portable.

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That may have been true in the past when AC adaptor had more than two wires, and in some cases sent a reduced AC voltage to the notebook. But these days, most all notebooks I've seen just send a regulated DC voltage to the notebook with two wires (+V and GND). And today's switching power supplies are much more efficient, smaller, and lighter than in the old days.

That being said, I don't know why Sony has such a large adaptor. It's specified at 19.5V, 4.7A which is a pretty huge 92 Watts. I don't see any reason the notebook should require more power than other notebooks. The components in all brands are very similar, and the biggest users of power are the CPU, hard drive, and LCD display (back light). Don't see how Sony would be any different there.

This place sells some replacement AC adaptors. Their model PCGA-19V4 for $30 meets Sony's spec. Only problem is, they don't post the dimensions or weight. I did email them asking, but the response ignored my question and just said it was temporarily of stock. Maybe you can try emailing them too? They also show 19V, 3A adaptors which look small, and should work, but it's at your own risk.

Many models of Dell also use 19.5V adaptors and should work. But you'd have to solder on the correct connector for a Sony.

 

The other day I saw the "I Go" pretty smal adapter but at 120 CAD...but does everything (car, airplane, and home)


http://www.igo.com/iGoProductBrowse.aspx?browsepage=Power

 

thanks for the info everyone! My girlfriend has a powerbook 12" and the AC adaptor is so small. Just a little bigger than my IPOD mini adaptor!! Meanwhile I am stuck with a huge brick for my vaio I will email the website that was provided and see if they respond to size and weight dimensions.

Thanks!!

 

I won't say this is the smallest, but it's not bad. I just picked up a Targus APA10US universal AC adapter at Best Buy for $40 after $20 rebate (on sale this week). And so far, it seems to work great with my Sony S460 (almost same as S380). And since it's universal, it works with many other brands and models too.

Compared to the adapter that came with my Sony, this one is almost 1/2 the size (I measured 44% smaller). It measures (WxLxH) 1.81 x 3.94 x 1.13" vs. 2.38 x 5.38 x 1.13" for the Sony. The weight is claimed to be 7.5oz (not sure about Sony). While it's smaller, I estimate by feel that it doesn't weigh a whole lot different from the Sony.

While the photos of it at Best Buy and Targus are similar, the one I got is a bit different, packaged different, and smaller.

Targus calls it a 70 Watt model, with 80 Watts peak. The unit itself is marked as 65 Watts. The Sony supply is 90 Watts. It comes with two tips for Sony models (8 total tips), #11 and #12. With tip #11, I measured the output voltage at 16.48V (always measure to check voltage and make sure polarity is correct). With #12, I measured 20.31V. The Sony adapter is rated at 19.5V, but I measured 19.65V. With tip #11, the laptop did not power up at all, so I guess Sony has a minimum voltage detector inside the notebook. I didn't like the idea of going higher than 19.65V, but this was measured without load (will be less with load) and it was only 4% above spec, and I figure anything less than 5% off should be fine. Anyway, the notebook powered up fine.

Since this is a smaller wattage supply than the one that came with the notebook, it's important to make sure it doesn't overheat and become a possible fire hazzard. I ran the notebook at full speed and watched a DVD. The Targus does get warm, but not bad at all. It's a bit warmer than the Sony adapter as expected, but a little cooler than the top of the S360 case, and much cooler than the bottom of the S360. So I think it's fine.

The adapter tips are right angle, which is great. But they are pretty big, so it's not as big a deal.

Anyway, think I'll keep it. It's quite a bit smaller, "universal", and just $40. I'll keep running it longer to make sure no heat problems show up.

 

awesome info!!! thanks a bunch. Let me know about the heat issues. I would like to pick one of these up.

thanks!

 

My Asus z71v has a quite small power brick.